EQ matters just as much as IQ when it comes to satisfaction and achievement in life.
Emotional intelligence or EQ
The ability to understand, use, and control your own emotions in constructive ways to alleviate tension, interact effectively, empathize with others, resolve difficulties, and defuse conflict is emotional intelligence (also known as emotional quotient or EQ). Emotional intelligence helps you develop better relationships, excel in school and work, and accomplish your professional and personal objectives. It can also help you communicate with your emotions, transform purpose into action, and make educated choices about what is most important to you.
Four qualities generally describe emotional intelligence:
Self-management - You can control impulsive feelings and behaviors, manage your emotions in healthy ways, take initiative, follow commitments, and adapt to changing circumstances.
Self-awareness-You know your own feelings and how your emotions and actions are influenced. You are aware of your strengths and weaknesses, and have faith in yourself.
Social consciousness - You have empathy. You should understand other people's thoughts, desires, and concerns, pick up on emotional signals, socially feel relaxed, and know the dynamics of power in a group or organization.
Management of relationships - You know how to build and maintain good relationships, communicate effectively, inspire and influence others, work well as a team, and resolve disputes.
Emotional intelligence is important
As we know, it’s not the brightest people who are the most popular or the most fulfilled in life. You also know people who are academically talented and yet are socially incompetent and ineffective at work or in their personal relationships. Intellectual ability or the quotient of your intellect (IQ) is not enough on its own to make life a success. Yeah, your IQ will help you get into college, but when faced with your final exams, it's your EQ that will help you control stress and emotions. In tandem, IQ and EQ exist and are most successful when they build on each other.
Emotional intelligence affects:
Your school or work results. High emotional intelligence will assist you to manage the workplace's social complexities, lead and inspire others, and succeed in your career. In reality, many businesses now rate emotional intelligence as important as technical skill when it comes to measuring important job applicants, and use EQ testing before hiring.
Your wellbeing in physical terms. If you can't control your thoughts, you probably aren't handling your tension either. This can lead to major health issues. Uncontrolled stress raises blood pressure, suppresses the immune system, increases the risk of strokes and heart attacks, leads to infertility, and speeds up the process of aging.
Your psychological wellbeing. Uncontrolled feelings and stress can affect your mental health as well, making you vulnerable to depression and anxiety. You'll also fail to develop strong relationships if you are unable to understand, get comfortable with, or control your emotions. In turn, this can leave you feeling alone and depressed and further intensify any mental health issues.
Your experiences. You're better able to communicate how you feel and understand how others feel by understanding your feelings and how to control them. This helps you, both at work and in your personal life, to connect more efficiently and forge deeper relationships.
Your intelligence on social issues. It serves a social function to be in tune with your feelings, linking you to other individuals and the world around you. Social intelligence helps you to distinguish friends from enemies, evaluate the interest of another person in you, minimize tension, align social contact with your nervous system, and feel loved and secure.
